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History behind Houston’s most recognizable streets

We drive on them and past them all the time, but do we really know the stories behind Houston street names?

Our Houston street names have tales to tell, of humor and tragedy, passions and pleasures, heroes and history. That includes Allen Parkway, named after Houston’s founding fathers, the Allen brothers.

When Michael Louis Westheimer first bought his 640-acre farm, he was so far out in the boonies, he built his own school and medical facility where St. John School sits today. This was because most of his livery business was in downtown Houston.